TWO firebrand Jamaican Baptist pastors will be at the United Nations (UN) in New York, among global faith leaders who will wage a fight to make racial justice the world body’s 18th sustainable development goal (SDG), from April 14 to 15, 2025.

Reverend Dr Devon Dick of Boulevard Baptist Church and Reverend Dr Stephen Jennings of Mona Baptist Church, St Andrew, will be Jamaica’s representatives on the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) delegation that will lobby for the formal recognition, the Jamaica Baptist Union (JBU) said in a press statement Sunday.

“The BWA’s campaign, powerfully themed ‘The Missing SDG: A Call to Restorative Racial Justice’, aims to address a critical gap in the UN’s Agenda 2030,” JBU argued. “While the global framework boasts 17 SDGs designed to create a more just world, none explicitly targets racial justice.”

In a world still grappling with persistent racial discrimination, prejudice, and xenophobia, the BWA insisted that this omission could no longer be overlooked.

According to Reverend Dick, “The inclusion of racial justice as an 18th SDG is both timely and necessary. As people of faith we are called to advocate for justice and equity. The BWA’s presence at the UN underscores our commitment to confronting racial injustice and advancing restorative racial justice on a global scale.

“The call for an 18th SDG is rooted in the BWA’s new statement, ‘Restorative Racial Justice: A Call to Live in Flourishing Freedom’, which serves as the foundation for its advocacy efforts.

“As the global community edges closer to the UN’s 2030 Agenda, the BWA believes the inclusion of racial justice as a core development goal would spark transformative change — guiding governments, NGOs, and communities worldwide in crafting more equitable policies and practices.”

The Baptist World Alliance’s two-day advocacy mission will take place on the sidelines of the 4th session of the UN’s Permanent Forum on People of African Descent and will feature a series of high-profile engagements, including an orientation dinner, expert panel discussions, an ecumenical prayer service, and advocacy meetings with key UN missions, notably Brazil and Colombia.

The alliance suggested that Reverend Dick’s participation in this racial justice campaign reflects Jamaica’s continued leadership on issues of justice, equity, and human rights on the global stage, reaffirming the role of faith-based communities as key advocates in shaping a world where dignity and diversity are celebrated.

With a history of over 400 years and representing 176,000 churches and 53 million baptised believers across 134 countries, the Baptist World Alliance is a significant voice in the global pursuit of justice.

BWA General Secretary Reverend Dr Elijah Brown, who leads the delegation, stressed the moral and spiritual imperative behind this mission, saying that the overarching call of scripture is for the restoration of all creation into the fullness of the Kingdom of God.

“Yet, many have traded that vision for the lie of superiority that undergirds racism. The Gospel of Jesus redeems us from the sinful chains of inherent superiority,” Dr Brown declared, adding that the pursuit of racial justice is not just a social or political issue, but a core aspect of God’s plan for restoration and true freedom, of which racism “is a fundamental contradiction”.

The BWA delegation, comprising about 20 leaders from North America, the Caribbean, and Africa, brings together a powerful coalition of pastors, UN experts, former ambassadors, and regional Baptist leaders. This broad representation spans global, national, and grass roots perspectives, all unified in the pursuit of lasting and restorative racial justice.

DICK… the inclusion of racial justice as an 18th SDG is both timely and necessary